Punches in Bunches: Fedor signs with Strikeforce, Belfort vs. Franklin and more

• No. 1 heavyweight fighter in the world Fedor Emelianenko has signed with Strikeforce. Fedor is contractually obligated to fight 3 fights over 1 year and will make his Strikeforce debut this fall some time.

What does Dana White think about this you ask? “I’m in Abu Dhabi right now and my reaction is Fedor is a [expletive] joke.” White told Cagewriter. “[He] turns down a huge deal and the opportunity to face the best in the world to fight nobodies, for no money. Fedor is a [expletive]!” (Strikeforce)

• After his initial blood sample tested positive for steroids, Josh Barnett returned a positive “B” sample on Friday (July 31) according to the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC). This marks the third time in his career that Barnett has tested positive for steroids. (MMA Mania)

• The UFC has signed Vitor Belfort and the Brazilian will step back into the octagon against Rich Franklin at a catchweight of 195 pounds in the main event of UFC 103 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 19. (Twitter)

• Dan Henderson will get a second chance against Anderson Silva and the UFC middleweight belt. No date has been set, but Dana White said it will depend on “how banged up” Silva is after he fights Forrest Griffin at UFC 101.

• Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz was on the July 31 media conference call to officially announce his return to the Octagon. While “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” didn’t get into specifics, he did confirm that he will finish his fighting career under the Zuffa umbrella.

Strikeforce has made its mark by putting on high-quality cards primarily on the west coast and keeping costs at a minimum…not to mention staying out of the crosshairs of Zuffa. They’re obviously moving outside their niche and trying to go big-time with the signing of Fedor and a potential CBS prime time fight series.

It’s critical that Strikeforce get someone to fight him who can sell a fight, because Fedor sure can’t. He doesn’t speak English, isn’t particularly charismatic and his pay per view buy rates with Affliction weren’t anything special, or they’d still be around today. Verdum sure won’t excite the general public; maybe Brett Rogers can, but I’m not certain. They will try to build to a showdown with Overeem, and while that’s a great fight, most of America couldn’t tell you the difference between Overeem and Ovaltine.

Furthermore, I fully expect the UFC to declare war on Strikeforce with free shows on Spike to coincide with Strikeforce cards on Showtime and CBS…and you better believe those cards will be headlined by fighters who have mainstream recognition. Strikeforce may have taken the MMA world by storm with this announcement, but there is a very good chance this move could backfire dramatically.

Fedor is contractually obligated to M-1 for three more fights. M-1 made the deal that makes them the most money for those three fights. Fedor might have made more money as an individual with the UFC, but M-1 would not unless M-1 could co-promote. Hopefully, Fedor hurries up and kicks some @$$ for three fights so we can see him whip the Vanilla Gorilla. Dana White’s not helping himself with his comments. Personally, I’d like to see Fedor fight Dana White as his first fight in the UFC. Someone needs to teach that punk to watch his mouth, and I think a few punches from Fedor and an uninterrupted arm bar are just what the doctor’s ordering on that guy.

That said, it really sucks that Fedor’s taking this route. Other than his contractual obligations to his representation and the money figures, it’s hard to argue that he’s not ducking Lesnar. My first reaction to the news yesterday was “NOOOOOOOOOOO!” At least, MMA fans can see Fedor on Showtime without having to order pay-per-view. It might increase his exposure in the U.S. and his future bargaining power with the UFC. Neither Fedor or the UFC/Lesnar can claim to own the legitimate heavyweight championship until that fight happens.

Not sure what to believe with the Fedor thing. I read one article that said it was basically a lack of respect that Dana had for Fedor and his posse that ultimately decided to go with Strikeforce. I can kind of see that now with Dana in the past saying Fedor is a joke then and then saying he would be in the UFC and now that he doesn’t have him start back to his third grade crying routine by calling Fedor names again. Dana should realize that the Strikeforce deal is only for 3 fights in one year (if true) he shouldn’t be running his mouth again. That one year is going to fly by. Dana is a shrewd business man and has done alot for MMA but someone needs to put a muzzle on him sometimes. As for Fedor…who is he gonaa fight? Brett Rodgers? Overeem? Someone in Dream? Then who? I see Fedor still being undefeated and the end of his contract.

Also, that same article put blame on the radio host that leaked the so called 6 fight 30 million BS story and rightly so….has anyone talked to the radio host since? I would love someone to ask him if he thought he was the reason Fedor isn’t with the ufc.

Are they creating a new weight class? Are they calling it the Franklin division? If not, Rich needs to start fighting in one division or the other so that he can attempt a title run. I love the math teacher from Ohio, but if he isn’t getting some special consideration for this then he’s only hurting his own career.

I think its time Fedor be dropped from the number one spot in favor of someone who is actually fighting the best fighters in the world. That distinction and honor shouldn’t go to someone who is fighing former champions on their way out or no name bums. If Fedor truely wanted to prove that he is without a doubt the best heavyweight in the world then he would have went where the best heavyweights in the world are the UFC.

J, Good to have you back. Just wanting to you know your take on the Fedor saga as of late. I don’t believe signing with Strikeforce will help him in the long run. How can M-1 make money as a co-sponsor when there is no ppv money to truly spilt? Also what are you picks for the fights this saturday? Thanks!

when you hear fighters talk, nearly every one of them will tell you they want to fight the best, toughest guys out there. it’s how they’re wired…to be cometitive and to strive to be the best in the world.

fedor is apparently missing that drive (or testicular fortitude?) and that’s why i no longer view him as the best in the world. i hope when all the dust settles we find out that finklestein has poor fedor’s poodle held at gunpoint in the basement of some russian bathhouse and that’s why he has made this deal.

and wtf is up with all this catchweight crap? why even have divisions if guys aren’t going to fight in it? vitor/franklin looks fine on paper, but what does it accomplish? if vitor wins, do you really want to have rich in the lhw title picture? if rich wins, do you really want to run vitor out there to get killed by silva?

i’d love to see the ufc stick to fights within a weight class for 11 months out of the year, and then maybe pick one card a year to have a series of “superfights” where guys can fight at a catchweight.

As the UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar stepped into the octagon to fight the worlds number one ranked fighter, Fedor Emelianenko, there was an eerie silence in the sold out arena. Over 2.5 million PPV buyers from around the world have made this the biggest event in the history of MMA. Brock walks over to his corner and waits for the announcement. As Fedor is introduced the sounds are almost deafening. The two fighters come to the center of the octagon for final instructions. Immediately you can see the size advantage Brock has on the Russian. Fedor puts his hands out to tap gloves and Brock acknowledges with a smile, but doesn’t offer his hands in return. The men return to their corners and wait for the opening bell of their 5 round fight to begin. Sports bars around the states have broken out into uncontrollable noise in anticipation. The bell rings and Fedor stays in his corner and lets Brock make the first move, the Russian has always been patient.

Fedor attempts a takedown, which is easily fought off by Brock. Fedor knows he must win on his feet, but several blows have not seemed to faze Brock. Round one ends and it seemed as if the two fighters were only feeling each other out, Fedor wins the round. Brocks corner instructs him to move in for the takedown against the fence. Trap the Russian and don’t allow him room to move, much like he did with Mir. Early in the second round Brock shoots in like a man possessed and secures a double leg take down. The look on Fedors face shows he has never had to deal with such power. Brock has him pressed against the fence as planned, and pounds the Russian until the ref is forced to stop the fight. The Russian is fazed, but unhurt has a smile on his face as he walks back to his corner unassisted. He understands that he must accept fights against the best if he truly wants to be considered worlds number one, a ranking he must now earn back.

Unfortunately this scenario is not going to happen, as Fedor signed a contract with strike force to face much lesser of fighters for free on Showtime.

Fedors number one ranking is based on several facts, but one of the most mentioned is that he beat 5 “former” UFC champions. Lets look at the champions he beat.

1. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, won by decision both times. Probably one of the toughest fights Fedor has had.

2. Mark Coleman, who was 40 years old the first time they fought. and had only fought 3 times in the previous 3 years. The second fight had a 42-year-old Coleman go into the 2nd round with Fedor only to be submitted.

3. Kevin Randleman, who had lost 2 of his previous 3 fights. Randleman might have had the most impressive slam against the Russian but it wasn’t enough. Randleman would go on to lose 5 of his next 7 fights.

4. Andrei Arlovski, whose level of competition after leaving the UFC was questionable. The “pit bull” would lose by KO and would get knocked out his next fight in just 22 seconds.

5. Tim Sylvia, who had also lost 2 of his previous 3 fights before getting choked out by Fedor in 36 seconds. Tim would lose his next fight to Ray Mercer, a 49-year-old former boxer with no MMA experience, in just 9 seconds.

Others brag about how he beat Olympic silver medallist Matt Lindland, but what people fail to mention is Matt is 185-pound middleweight.

My question is this; will Fedor get the level of competition in strike force as he would in UFC? My answer is no. Will he make as much money in strike force as he would have with the UFC, clearly no.

I am reminded of another Russian, Alexander Karelin, the greatest Greco Roman wrestler in the history of the sport. Alexander went undefeated from the soviet nationals in 1987 until his sole international defeat in the gold medal match of the 2000 Olympic games. A 3 time Olympic champion, 4 time medallist. Alexander didn’t care about sponsorships or money; he was only out to prove who he was. I wish Fedor would follow in his country men’s footsteps and really prove he is the best fighter in the world.

well stick a forck in strikeforce thery done , don believe me ask pride and affliction the last two companies to have fedor on the roster.

that being said strikeforce makes up some serious ground on the ufc by adding this guy to thier roster but i have to imagine that they are gonna have a hard time paying him a couple million and then thery events arent even ppvs.

I am beginning to wonder if Fedor is all they claim he is. You don’t turn down that kind of kash, and fight the best, unless your all hype and no balls. His people just want to build his rep. on nobodies at this point in his career.

I’m sorry for Fedor, but the worst UFC event will bring in double viewers/money compared to the best strikeforce event bottom line. I think it’s a matter of time now that Strikeforce is going to go under just a thought!

“I’m in Abu Dhabi right now and my reaction is Fedor is a [expletive] joke.” White told Cagewriter. “[He] turns down a huge deal and the opportunity to face the best in the world to fight nobodies, for no money. Fedor is a [expletive]!”

Dana is exactly right!! What a pile of garbage it is that Fedor would rather fight the likes of Brett Rogers, Alistair Overeem, and Fabricio Verdum thah test himself against the UFC’s best. This Vadim Finklestein (sp?) dude must have some extremly incriminating photo’s of him. Those 3 will have to be his 3 fights since the only other heavyweight Strikeforce has under contract is Paul Buentello. Come to think of it, that sounds right up Fedor’s alley.

Also – why has your blog posting slowed to a crawl? I used to hear stuff from you first, now i hear about it from you days after hearing it elsewhere

Big fish in a small pond. Is this the end of it ? Will Fedor ever fight in the UFC ? It seems he’s doing his utmost to prevent facing Brock, Randy and Mir. Each time he refuses the deal a little bit of the invincibilty veneer breaks away. The UFC HWs must be feeling pretty confident if the Fedor is willing to throw that kind of a one-off deal to avoid fighting them. What a tosser.

Jared, when you will you post your 101 predictions ? I’m really looking forward to PennFlo. How are you, by the way ?

Man Dana needs to chill with the F bombs. Doesn’t he realize that he sounds like an uneducated retard when every other word out of his mouth is a cuss word? Can you imagine the president of another large corporation letting the F bomb fly every other word? Probably won’t happen because the shareholders will remove him from his position.

Enough of my small rant, is Fedor afraid of fighting in a good talent pool? I don’t understand his thinking here unless he just listens to his management team whole-heartedly. If that is the case he may be the #1 heavyweight in the world but I don’t think everyone will agree. As long as he’s beating up guys that are working toward the UFC instead of away from it I can’t fully respect the guy.

I no longer consider Fedor the top HW. You have to fight the best to remain the best and he has not done anything recently but fight UFC has beens. If you want to fight the best its time to put up or shut up.

Where does Tito fit in at this point in his career? Gatekeeper for young guys trying to break into the top 10 in a division? Grudge matches with other washed-up former stars? Does he have anything left in the tank?

Can’t believe it…….Fedor turning down that kind of money. his team must feel he could lose against the top UFC fighters, or maybe they think they can squeeze more out of the UFC? Well it makes you wonder, just how much heart Fedor really has. Well I would like to see the Silva/Griffin fight, and with Henderson waiting in the wings. I guess without a Lesnar/Fedor fight, this one will do ok!!!!

Who can blame him? Why fight for the UFC when he can make more money elsewhere.

If Dana was so sure that Brock was going to beat Fedor, why not go along with a one fight contract? Because Dana knows Fedor is the better fighter. If Fedor wins, he takes the UFC’s belt and leaves after his one fight, exposing the UFC’s HWT division for a sham.

Face it, the UFC is not that strong at heavy either. Fedor destroyed Tim Silvia and Silvia dominated the UFC HWT scene for a long time.

Remind me again, who has Brock beaten? Heck, who has he fought?

Randy? He’s 45 years old. So am I, but I’m not still fighting 😉

Mir? A hand-picked has been – but that one is tied at one each, right?

I’ll give it to the UFC, they have some great fighters. But their heavy weight division is lacking. What they have done very well with Brock is HYPE!

If all these great fighters wish to fight Fedor, maybe they should sign with StrikeForce?

I think that $30 million story was part of Dana’s hype machine, not real at all.

I wonder how much Zuffa would make from such a contract? I wonder how much they pay all the other fighters? If they can afford to pay such an amount to ONE fighter, perhaps they might pay ALL their fighters a little better, instead of pocketing the billions…

What’s the deal Jared? It seems you’ve either been super busy lately or about to drop this Chron MMA blog. You haven’t responded to the posts like you always do and the updates are far and few between. You have to tell us where the new blog will be if this one goes away, it used to be amazing…any scoop?

A lot of things hit me at once and I kind of got overwhelmed with frustration. I’m getting over it and should be posting more often soon. I’m most likely going to continue the blog. –Jared